Illuminated sign.



nnrrn strane en E FICE.

ILLUMINATED SIGN.

Specification of 'Letters Patent.

raient-ea ont. 3, 1911'.

Application led March 22, 1909. Serial No. 484,957

l To all whom 'it may concern:

.Beit known that I,.Lioivn'n I-I. Morse, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of the city and county of San Francisco',

. State of California, have invented a new and useful Improvement inIlluminated Signs, of which the following is a specification.- i

This invention relates to improvements Amade in illuminated signs of thetype Ior description in which each letter is 'painted'in contrastingcolors, in, its principal elements, upon a plane surface, so as to bewell defined and legible by day; and by means of incandescent electriclamps fixed in its face the letter is illuminated and made legible bynight.

The letter is surrounded on all sides by a standing rim conforming inshape to the characteristic outline of the letter and projecting fromthe plane surface on which the body of the letter is produced, so as toinclose the illuminating elements and thereby prevent the rays thatilluminate one letter from interfering with those from the illuminatingelements of the contiguous letters Athat compose the sign.

The standing rim is formed and arranged with the view to secure theeffect of a shade by which diffusion or interference of rays between theilluminating elements of the letters is prevented; and as a defiector,to concentrate and direct the rays of individual illuminating elementsupon the parts of -the letter itself, without distortingyor otherwisedetracting from the legibility of the letter when viewed by dayfrom'diit'erent positions.

The present invention has as its object the production of an illumniatedsign letter ofl a highlyornamental cliaraeteiVboth when l viewed bydaylight and also Awhen illumian illuminated sign.

' The accompanying. drawing illustrates the application of my saidinvention to the production of the capital letter K, and as emi bodiedtherein a description of it will enV able a person familiar With thevmanufacture of illuminated signs of this type or description to produceany letter or character for the production of a sign or a combination ofletters or characters to be illuminated.

Figure l of the drawing represents in perspective the capital letter Kembodying my invention. Fig. Q is a cross-section taken on vthe line.vv-m Fig. l.

The body of the letter of my invention is painted on the surface p in acolor contrastL ing to the color of the remainder of the surface p. Thebody of the letter is-preferably painted in a light or high light.refiecting color and the remainder of the surface in a dark or lowlight reflecting color so that the body of the letter will appear to'stand out from the surface. The shade elements are painted preferablyin a'eolor intermediate between the colors of the body of the letter andof the back-ground.

Within the outlines of the letter the sock 'y ets 'c for the light bulbsare Wired or connected in any Well known manner at'the back. In thedrawing the light bulbs or lamps are left out of the sockets and thewiring is not shown, for the reason "that the electrical connectionsbetween the lamps and the source of current do not differ from those emloyed in othersigns'of the same.'

type, an the proper connections can be facture of electrical signsWithout further explanation. y

rhe shading and reflectingy elements lin the signof my invention confineand con'- centrate the rays from the lamps Within the borders of theletterl in a similar manner to the corresponding reflecting elements inother signs of like character, being arranged to conform or follow theparticular outline of the letter. But instead of standing generallyperpendicular to the letter bearing surface asin previous constructions0f similar letters the shading and reflecting elements on one side ofthe letter of my invention are placed or arranged at anangle'more orless acute to' the lletter bearing surface p, or at.such an angle fromthe perpendicular as to bring' to View from the front the inner face cl2of the element al", or'that side of itduce a shadow or darkenedback-ground on the panel immediately behind" the element.

As embodied in the form or style of letter which l have represented inthe drawing by way of illustration, the shading and reflecting elementscl on one side stand perpendicular or substantially at right angles tothe piane of the letter bearing surface and are situated on the rightside of the letter and over the tops of the stems or perpendicularmembers, -whereas, the shade forming elen'ients IZ are situated on theleft or the opposite side of the body a, and at the bottom of theletter. As to the effect of this'construction, it will be seen. thatthose portions or members of the reflector which are generallyperpendicular to the face of. the letter prevent the rays of the lampson one, side from striking the back-ground which separates the letterfrom the adjoining letter in the complete sign, and concentrate the rays'upon the body of the letter, but the shade hearing or shade formingportion on the opposite side of the letter on the contrary preseatstheir illuminated surfaces to the front and .combine with or join thesaine to the. body forming elements of't'heletter itself iiith theeffect to give it the appearance of a beveled letter, or to cause theletter to stand out from the back-ground in high relief, according tothe degree of contrast or the differencein color between the face of theelement and the body of the letter7 or accordi ing to the distance at.which the element (ZX itself stands away from the surface of the panel;dilferenteffects being secured and a .highly ornamental character ofletter being letter meet or intersect.

receso? obtained ivith the standing reector in Which all the elementsstand perpendicularly out from the face of the letter bearing surface.v

The reiecting elements in an illuminated letter of my invention thushave the double function or purpose of cutting off or shielding thebackground from the lateral rays, and of constituting a part or memberci the letter itself, in which last mentioned relaarranging thereliecting elements in an illuminated sign letter according to myinvention, for the reason principally that it shows how thepeipendicular and the inclined reflecting elements are satisfactorilyset or arranged under conditions Where'perpendicular and slantingelements or members in a Other forms and styles of letters, charactersor symbols for illulninatedsigns can be body, and means arranged on theletter body for illuminating the letter.

LIGNEL H. MOISE. Witnesses EDWARD E. Osman,- M. REGNER.

